Police say Marriott suspects linked to Bali bombing

The Los Angeles Times

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Two skilled bomb-makers who allegedly assembled the deadly Bali car bomb last year are likely suspects in the Marriott hotel blast in Jakarta that killed 11 people, police said Monday.

Dr. Azahari Husin, a Malaysian university lecturer, and Dulmatin, an Indonesian electronics expert, have evaded a manhunt for the past nine months and may have made the bomb that struck the Marriott. While on the run, police believe the pair stayed for a time in the Sumatra home of Asmar Latin Sani, the Muslim militant who drove the car bomb to the JW Marriott on Aug. 5 and died in the explosion.

The alleged involvement of Azahari and Dulmatin is another sign that the Marriott bombing was probably the latest in a series of attacks carried out over the past four years by Jemaah Islamiah.

After the Marriott blast, Sani was identified by two jailed Bali bombing suspects.

, Police have arrested dozens of suspects connected to Jemaah Islamiah since the Bali blast that killed 202 people Oct. 12, but warn that the terror group may strike again soon in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.

Asked whether Azahari and Dulmatin were involved in the Marriott attack, Indonesian Police Chief of Detectives Erwin Mappaseng told reporters: "We are going in that direction, but we are still investigating. After we arrest them, we can tell you everything." Earlier in the day, Deputy Jakarta Police Chief Nanan Sukarna said Sani, the car bomber, had been wanted by police for months. He did not specify whether Sani was wanted for the Bali bombing or another offense.

Sardono Siliwangi and Mohammed Rais. They identified Sani from photos of his head, which was blown off by the blast and landed in a guest room several floors up. DNA tests showed that a pair of hands and other remains found near the bomb site were those of Sani, police said.

Siliwangi and Rais were arrested in May on the island of Sumatra with Jhoni Endrawan, also known as Idris, who allegedly helped organize the Bali attack.

Jemaah Islamiah, which allegedly has operated in at least eight countries from Cambodia to Australia, seeks to establish an Islamic state by creating chaos and bringing down established governments.

In addition to the Bali nightclub and Marriott attacks, the group is accused of bombing churches, the Philippine ambassador's Jakarta residence, a Jakarta shopping mall, Indonesia's national mosque and a transit station and other civilian targets in Manila.

Mappaseng said that a battery believed used in detonating the Marriott bomb matched batteries that were used in church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000.

The 9-volt battery, which was found on the seventh floor of the hotel, bore the label HW, the same brand of batteries used in the Christmas bombings, which killed 19 people. Police said the batteries are not commonly seen in Indonesia, which suggests they were brought from outside the country and distributed along with explosives and detonators used in the attacks.

Participants in the church bombings have told police that they were organized by Jemaah Islamiah operations chief Hambali, a top al-Qaida operative, who is still on the run.

Authorities believe Hambali also was behind the Bali bombing and that he transferred money from al-Qaida to help finance the attack.

Hambali allegedly organized the church bombings in 2000 with the help of Imam Samudra, a computer expert. Samudra was arrested after the Bali bombing and is accused of playing a major role in that plot.

On trial in Bali, Samudra testified Monday that he was not involved in the bombing but said he does not fear execution if he is convicted. Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, the first Bali bomber to go on trial, was found guilty last week and sentenced to die.

"I am not afraid of being sentenced to death because what I have done so far has put me on the road to Allah, and is in line with the teachings of Islam," Samudra said. "Muslims have been made scapegoats for American terrorism around the world." LA TIMES-WASHINGTON POST - 08-11-03 1829EDT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -